Nikon - RIP

[Richard G]

I had good service from Fuji Australia, via my dealer. Being a Leica camera and Zeiss lens buyer from VanBar (only one of each) didn't hurt, but the store is great and keeps good relations with their reps, obviously.

[S.H.]

Originally Posted by nobbylon

I really don't see what the problem is. You chose to buy at the price you paid. It was just bad timing on your part. I doubt that your switching to Sony will affect anything other than you missing out on a great camera experience.
Anything that is relatively new in release is always going to be priced at a premium. Early adopters nearly always pay higher prices and it's not Nikons fault that someone decides to buy at the tail end of this cycle. Sorry.

Exactly. You want to be early, you pay more. You wait, you pay less. And sometimes there are special offers. So what is really the problem here? (except that modern camera bodies have a too short life).

[uhoh7]

Omg. I can understand being mad about sensor issues, for sure. Anger about price drops is ridiculous. My Sony nex 5n is not worth half what it was a year ago. Should I be pissed?

Early adopters always take risks to have cool stuff first. Look at the Fuji rush and hangover. The funny thing is how sony's desperate quest for market share drew such a chorus of pshaws. The nex 5 was laughed at widely at inception.

Basically the whole point of 35mm photography began with the idea of a truly portable camera. Contax began the bloat, and the Slr revolution, sans Olympus, pushed it. But these huge FF DSLRs are over the top, a99 and even the m9 included. We will soon have an FF the size of the original Leica, and it's long past time.

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Exactly. You want to be early, you pay more. You wait, you pay less. And sometimes there are special offers.

Yes. Complaining that the manufacturer refused to give you money back on a deal, made with your eyes (presumably) open, seems a little strange, to say the least.

[steveniphoto]

i, along with others here, dont understand what your issue is. i mean cmon man its bad luck. you act like Nikon personally wanted to screw you out of $700.

i buy a lot of groceries. i spend up to $70 on the average week and hundreds during the holiday season. many times, things go on sale after i bought them at regular price. does that entitle me to a refund? no.

[thegman]

I get how it's frustrating to miss out on a price drop, but we've probably all paid for something and then seen it cheaper somewhere else, or the price is cut for some reason. Nikon put the D600 on the market at a price, the customer may feels it's a fair price and buy it. If the price then goes down, well, it's annoying, but Nikon has not wronged you, all ends of the deal have been held up, you got the camera at what you felt was a fair price.

Electronics prices go down, it's a fact of life, and one we're all aware of when buying. Sometimes they'll drop overnight, and sometimes it'll take 6 months, in end, it does not make much difference.

I agree with steveniphoto, it's bad luck, nothing more.

Good luck with A99 though, a full frame EVF-based camera is an interesting bit of kit for manual glass. I've found the DSLRs often need their focus screens shimmed to be accurate with the manual lenses, I'd expect that point to be moot on a A99.

[Addy101]

I can understand the frustration. Nikon clearly showed disrespect to its loyal following. And yes, those who say that you paid what you thought it was worth, are right. That doesn't mean you can't feel like they've treated you unfair. Going to another mount because of this might be a bit drastic....

However, here on the Alpha side, live is great. Visit us other Alphists over at Dyxum.com. It has great resources. Second hand Minolta AF lenses work perfect on your A99, so some great deals are to be had! And did you know that some Minolta lenses were developed together with Leica? Alpha mount has Leica and Zeiss AF.....

[daveleo]

Sorry for your bad feelings about the price, but I have to agree with others here - that you have to expect big price drops in camera bodies, and you can't expect a company to reimburse early adopters when it happens.

The good side is maybe you are ready to jump ship and try out some new brand - that could be fun !


EDIT: I just re-read your posting. Yeh, if it's $700 and really was just a few weeks, Nikon (or the dealer) should do something ? ? to keep it's angry customers happy.

[tunalegs]

A lot of people are acting like paying $700 too much is the equivalent of losing a $20 bill. I'd have to say it depends on how many weeks a "matter of weeks" is, but if I had paid several hundred more for something than it was worth, I'd be mad too.

[Bike Tourist]

The price drop was aided by fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange. All consumer goods are subject to situations where they are discounted. What would you have them do? Maintain the same price throughout the product life? Ask your opinion before changing the price? I think we've all been in this position at one time or the other.

It's not a photographic or camera performance issue.

[sanmich]

If I was to see a major price drop on a camera I was an early adopter of, just because me and lots of others have had problems with the camera, I think I would be kind of pissed off.
I would feel like a guinea pig for the company, and the experiment didn't go too well...

[Range Loser]

I agree with most people here, when you choose to buy a camera is up to you, they nearly always drop in price. I waited about 9 months to get the D800 and saved about £750. That's just the market, you wait patiently or pay a premium.

[Spanik]

Always too soon, always too late. The problem of digital equipment.

[Soeren]

Camerabuyers memory must be lacking in the light how many firmwareupdates etc. most new products undergo the first year or so. The cameras are maturing during their lifespan to a certain point and of cource Nikon, Canon, Sony and Fuji, just to name a few, are squizing their costumers for every penny possible in the first period after a product release, Would you expect differently? Afterall they have a bottomline and theyll have to make money to make the next generation possible. Prices are subject to change so you just have to think it over before buying and dont look back. In the end you payed what you where ready to pay and considered it a fair price. That pricething happens all the time here when it comes to cars and we are talking 180% taxed products here
Best regards

[Al Patterson]

Originally Posted by Travis L.

I'm not sure I understand the basis for your argument.

I understand it, but think he was over reacting. Read x-ray's message, it's better written than what was my initial reaction to the original post.

I avoid this type of thing by buying refurbs or last years model...

[digitalintrigue]

I can understand the frustration but it's not just Nikon.

[Fraser]

As already said its annoying but you are always going to be a guinea pig buying cameras soon after they are released. Did you not loose even more money when you switched to Sony?
I would have just stuck with the Nikon so as not to have a Sony

[Timmyjoe]

I think it's kind of a childish reaction to the situation, to dump all your gear because of the way one customer service individual treated you.

Also, according to Ken Rockwell, your D600 was the same camera as the Nikon D4, which costs thousands and thousands more, so you got a really good deal on your D600, no matter what you originally paid.

Best,
-Tim

[Mark C]

It is frustrating; I've pretty much given up buying new digi stuff. I do shop and shop, but hardly ever get around to buying anything. But that is largely because I don't have an immediate need. If you have a job or project that requires something, then you buy it at the price you are comfortable with and move on. I bought my Epson 4900 at a good price. Apparently people pay double what I did (well more than $700 difference). The digital gear marketplace is nutty.

Moving to Sony is helping this somehow? I presume you've now lost even more than the $700 you were upset about. So, sure, it's all a matter of principle, but Sony is somehow better? Sony Corp is known for caring about its customers' feelings?

Maybe if the world threw away its Nikons in disgust it would make a difference, but I bet they found plenty of buyers with the $700 rebate, and that there are plenty more buyers for bargain priced gear from a few Nikon deserters.

[semilog]

Originally Posted by nobbylon

I really don't see what the problem is. You chose to buy at the price you paid. It was just bad timing on your part.

Even that's a bit overly generous to the OP. Look, the camera had a set price when the OP purchased it. He either needed/could justify the purchase at that time, or not. It is not the seller's responsibility to say whether an outlay of funds in exchange for a piece of equipment is a good idea or not. Nikon's lowering of the price did not in any way change the utility of the machine once purchased. The only thing that was potentially affected was resale value. But anyone who pays the slightest attention to digital cameras knows that camera bodies depreciate rapidly, and need to be viewed as consumables, like film.

Which brings us to the real question: are we buying gear for the sake of buying gear, or because we want/need the photographic capabilities offered by that gear? There is a huge difference between the former and the latter.

[Pablito]

Sony may make fantastic cameras but they are notorious for very short support period of product after release. Already they won't repair a number of their FF DSLRs, I am told by some colleagues that use them. THAT is something to complain about.

[Pablito]

So I went looking for the $700 rebate on the D600 and I can't find it anywhere. All the usual places are listing it at just under $2K. Oh well, I would have bought one at $1400 as a backup for the D800.

[digitalintrigue]

The value of the camera was worth the cash exchanged at the time of purchase.

The Nikon promotion was a limited time offer, no longer available. The price is now back up to where it was.

The camera still provides the same level of quality that was worth the price at the time of purchase.

The resale value as of this point in time is not affected as the special offer is no longer available.

Of course, there will be continuous depreciation from the point of sale forward. That's the nature of the electronics business.

[ruby.monkey]

Originally Posted by tunalegs

A lot of people are acting like paying $700 too much is the equivalent of losing a $20 bill. I'd have to say it depends on how many weeks a "matter of weeks" is, but if I had paid several hundred more for something than it was worth, I'd be mad too.

He didn't pay $700 too much, though - he obviously thought the camera was worth the asking price, otherwise it would have stayed on the dealer's shelf. I know it's natural to feel a little cheated if the price drops afterwards, but it still doesn't mean he's entitled to a refund.

[digitalintrigue]

Originally Posted by Pablito

So I went looking for the $700 rebate on the D600 and I can't find it anywhere. All the usual places are listing it at just under $2K. Oh well, I would have bought one at $1400 as a backup for the D800.

It wasn't a rebate.

Here is what the special promotion was:

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/12/14/...round-the-web/

Canon had a similar promotion on the 5D III that saved several hundred dollars. It also is no longer available.